FESTIVE BONUS
BOSSES at JCB have been delivering a grand dose of festive cheer to hundreds of employees – by announcing they would all receive a £1,000 Christmas bonus.
The Rocester-based firm says it has been enjoying a bumper year which has seen machine production reach a 73-year high and an additional 1,500 people were recruited.
The gift, which will go to around 7,200 employees across its 11 plants, equals the firm’s biggest Christmas bonus, which saw all employees receive £1,000 in 2007.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “JCB has had a very successful year and I am delighted we are able to award a substantial Christmas bonus to thank our employees for their contribution.
“There are many parallels between JCB and the British economy at the moment: both are doing very well indeed and both have record levels of employment.
“What’s more, the signs remain extremely encouraging for 2019, with many reasons to remain positive for the future, both for our business, and the UK, which, after all, is the world’s fifth largest economy.”
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “JCB has had an exceptional year and we are gearing up for another strong 2019. The whole JCB team has every reason to be proud of what has been achieved and we are looking forward to building on our success next year.” Lloyd Sims, 28, of Rocester, works as a pipe welder. He has worked at JCB for three years – but this is his first year as an employee there.
He said: “I am absolutely amazed and I can’t believe the amount.
“We were trying to guess how much it might be and we thought between £300 and £600 but this has just blown it out of the water. “I don’t know how I’ll spend it; it could be a holiday in the New Year or I might just have a really good Christmas.”
During 2018 JCB has also launched its brand new range of X-series excavators to industry acclaim and began work on a new £50 million UK factory at Uttoxeter, Staffordshire to build cabs for its machines.
JCB also unveiled its first electric digger – a 1.8-tonne mini excavator which can be charged by plugging it into a 230volt domestic supply.
I don’t know how I’ll spend it; it could be a holiday or just on a really good Christmas Lloyd Sims